Lakeside
by kayleex
Summary: They come after me too Harry, the Dementors. were not so different you and I" with Hogwarts plauged by Dementors Harry feels alone, can a unlikely friendship save him from isolation? from PoA.
1. Chapter 1

Everyone was starting to feel the effects the Dementors in Hogwarts but none more so than Harry. He couldn't understand why they were so attracted to him and for that reason he felt so alone. He felt weak and vulnerable, but he would never admit it. It had only been a month since the incident on the train and he still couldn't get rid of that feeling. A feeling of sadness overcoming him, the warmth being taken from his skin, his heart freezing over and his soul, all his happiness being sucked from him. And how could he forget that scream, that long piercing scream that was his mothers.

Harry found himself wandering around in a state most days unable to cope with the atmosphere. As he looked to the sky it was starting to get darker he had the rest of the day off and he didn't want to spend it dwelling on Dementors, he needed a distraction. He looked out over the courtyard and let his eyes wonder over the hills that led to Hagrid's Hut. What with his new teaching position Hagrid was sure to be busy, but Harry decided that it was worth giving it a try. So he collected all his books and started walking towards Hagrid's Hut, as he did he looked to the sky noticing it still getting darker and darker. A cold chill went down his spine as he thought about what might be causing that to happen. But he kept walking, as he approached Hagrid's his heart sank as he realised he wasn't there. There was no smoke rising from the chimney and Fang was sitting on the step, waiting for his master to return.

"Hi Fang, Hagrid not home?" he asked looking gloomily up at the Hut, Fang just let out a long low groan.

"I know what you mean" he said, a dark cloud suddenly covered the sun and out of the corner of his eye Harry caught a glimpse of something shining in the far distance. It was the lake, shimmering in the single ray of sunlight that had escaped the darkness, Harry felt drawn to it. He was like a moth to the flame, attracted to what seemed to him to be the only living thing remaining in Hogwarts. Harry felt a sudden glint of happiness as he saw the specs of sunlight reflect off the rolling, soft ripples of the lake. He was walking towards it feeling the warmth of the sun on his face.

As he approached the lake he realised he was not alone. There sitting right on the water's edge surrounded by books and parchment and what seemed to Harry as fishing equipment was a girl. She had a rod in the water and was sprawled out on the ground with her eyes closed soaking in the suns warmth. Harry didn't want to disturb her but he was extremely curious as to what it was she was doing.

"Lovely day for it" he said smiling, she jumped slightly.

"Oh yeah" she laughed to herself and she looked at Harry in bewilderment.

Ignoring her stare he asked "What you doing?"

"Um, well I'm fishing" she said rearranging her books and parchment.

"Ah yes, what for exactly" as Harry asked this question he moved closer to the girl he realised she was in Slytherin. He was shocked, most of the Slytherin's this year had gone out of their way to make sure Harry was being tormented every day, but she was yet to throw any snide remarks his way.

"Well, you see I do Advance Potions and Professor Snape has asked me to make the Potion of Melancholy." She said looking through all her papers; she looked up at Harry the expression on his face made her giggle. "It makes the drinker feel overwhelming sad, and depending on the strength, it can last for up to years. Pretty powerful stuff for a fourth year, but it's nothing I can't handle. Of course I really couldn't see why he would want me to make anything so depressing when we've got these bloody Dementors hanging about" she said looking to the sky. "But anyway, most of the ingredients are fair bit expensive and I don't really have much money so I'm fishing. I'm trying to catch Grindylows, Hagrid gave me tips he's really quite smart Hagrid, when it comes to creatures anyway" she giggled. "I've caught two already I only need one but I was thinking if I dissect them properly I might be able to earn a Galleon or two down in Hogsmede" as she kept looking through her parchment she seemed as though she was speaking to herself more than to Harry at this point.

She looked at Harry and laughed, "I'm sorry, I get a bit carried away. I'm Elinore Collins, but you can call me Elle" she held out her hand for Harry to shake, he took it and smiled. She was a fairly pretty girl, her eyes were wide ice blue and dark lashed, her hair was dark with long curls and in the sunlight it had a red tinge to it, her smile was so friendly. And it was one of the first smiles Harry had seen in weeks.

"I'm Harry" he said

"I know" she smiled, suddenly something started tugging at her line and her rod went flying up into the air but stopped and caught itself.

"Woahhh, lucky I put a charm on the rod isn't it, there rather strong for something so small" she reached up to grab the rod, laughing hysterically as she did so. Harry couldn't help but smile.

"Do you need help?" he asked looking at the rod

"Ah, no ill be alright" she drew out her wand and pointed it at the rod, and it slowly came down to her.

She grabbed hold of it and pointed her wand at the wheel, it started turning and the rod was almost at breaking point and suddenly flinging out of the water and into the air came a small green creature. It moved so quickly Harry had hardly any time to see it before it was thrown into a bucket filled to the top with water. Elle then strapped the lid down with what seemed like extremely strong charmed rope and sat back down she was still laughing. Harry started laughing too, there was something about her laugh, about the lake shining that was making him feel joy, it was something he hadn't felt yet at Hogwarts this year. But Harry couldn't help wondering why it was that she was so different from the rest of her house. Harry stopped laughing and he felt is face change, line crease on his forehead. Elle stopped laughing too in reaction to Harry's face.

"What's wrong? " She asked, looking quite concerned.

"I don't get it, why is it that the rest of your house aren't like you? Why are they all a bunch of tossers?" he said looking at her seriously. There was a long pause.

"Ah, I heard they've all been giving you a hard time since what happened on the train." She paused. "I don't know what it is; they all have superiority complexes, given to them by their parents of course. I guess I don't have that problem" she paused again sighed and looked out over the lake. Harry felt a sting in his chest. He knew that feeling all too well, he knew that face, that tone, that sigh.

"I guess I'm more like my father, he was in Slytherin, as for my mum she was in Gryffindor. No one ever understood why he loved her. I guess she brought out a side of him he didn't know he had." There was a long pause as Elle looked out over the water, she sighed again.

"They come after me too Harry, the Dementors. They can sense that I've felt so much sadness in my life that they are drawn to me. I suspect that it's the same with you, were not so different you and I." She said looking at him finally, smiling. "I guess that's why I'm not a tosser" she laughed. Harry laughed too.

He had found it, the escape he needed from the constant darkness. A Slytherin, someone not much different from him, someone as equally tortured. Someone who understood what it was like to be alone.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been weeks since Harry had met Elle at the Lake, he had returned to his state of isolation and depression and it seemed as though the numbers of Dementors had increased, this had made Hogwarts so much darker. Harry had seen Elle in passing a few times and she greeted him with a polite smile. Of course she would never fully greet him knowing the effects of that decision.

With his constant mood Harry had started to fall behind in his work, he thought seeing as though he was unable to go to Hogsmede he would use the opportunity to catch up on his work. Harry made his way to the Library trying hard not to think about how much fun Ron and Hermione were having, wanting so badly to be joining them. Harry mopped his way into the library, under the very watchful eye of Madam Pince, the scent of dust and parchment filled his nostrils and he let out a sigh. It echoed there was no one to be seen; he decided to find a nice place by a window to perhaps lift his mood and escape from the watchful eyes of Madam Pince.

The echo of his footsteps was interrupted by a voice that was only just familiar to him.

"Hi Harry" said Elle smiling up at him, she was sitting at a desk covered with books and parchment. The window behind her was glowing slightly. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Hogsmede?"

"I could ask you the same thing" he said returning her smile, he paused. "Looks like you're a tad busy so I might just-"

"Oh no, not at all come join me" she interrupted smiling again; she started clearing the desk piling her books and parchment, Harry slumped his bag onto the table with a thump.

"Woah, easy on. Haven't been doing our homework obviously" she said laughing.

"Yeah, just haven't been in the mood really, looks about the same for you" he said looking at the endless piles of books and parchment.

"Ah no, this is just extra stuff, gets my mind off things." She said smiling at him, her smile slowly faded and she opened up one of her books and started reading. Harry could see that she was upset; it showed in her face it was almost painful to look at.

"It's probably none of my business but what exactly are you trying to get your mind off?" Harry asked hoping this might make her feel better. She looked up at him a small smile on her face.

"Ah it's so stupid, it's been twelve years but I still miss them sometimes." She looked out the window; Harry started to feel a sharp pain in his chest.

"When you said we weren't so different you meant-"Harry started.

"My parents were murdered, when I was two." She interrupted.

"My father was betrayed by a man he considered a brother." She paused "I'm okay now it's just days like today I miss them, it would've been her birthday today. I just can't help but think what life would've been like if they were still alive. Do you ever think about that Harry?" she asked looking at him her ice blue eyes piercing his.

"Of course, everyday." He said looking away from her stare.

"Right, I'm sorry." Looking down as though she had done something wrong. "I suppose being here, having everyone know your story. It would make it so much harder. Although you have all this attention you'd probably feel more alone than anyone else." She said trying to catch his eyes again.

"Yeah." Harry paused looking up at him from the corner of his eye. He felt as though there was an understanding between the two of them. They both knew what it felt like. There was a long silence Harry started to feel cold, there was a cracking noise on the window and then that feeling he knew all too well.

"There close, here have this" said Elle throwing Harry a chocolate frog. "I found a spell here somewhere" she started looking through her books "Ah, here it is. I've heard of it before but I've never actually done it. It's called Expecto Patronum, if cast correctly it can repel even the strongest of Dementors. You should ask Professor Lupin to help you out with it. He's quite clever, and I'm sure he'd understand why you would want to learn something so complex. I mean beats walking around with chocolate in your back pocket doesn't it" She said smiling again, Harry returned the smile.

"Thanks" he said "For everything I mean. It's nice to know someone understands." He said, starting to eat his chocolate.

"Same" she said smiling at him eating some chocolate herself. They continued the rest of the afternoon talking about all different things. Elle was quite knowledgeable and had helped Harry a great deal lot with his homework.

As the sun started setting they decided to call it a day. Ron and Hermione were sure to be back from Hogsmede by now. He and Elle both headed towards the Great Hall for some dinner, the halls were buzzing from the excitement, and Harry couldn't help but feel slightly envious.

"Why is it that you're not allowed to go?" said Elle seeing the obvious disappointment on Harry's face.

"Well my Aunt and Uncle are very anti magic, anything related to it is considered freakish and abnormal. I don't think they would've signed the permission form; they like to keep the whole out of sight out of mind perspective when it comes to magic. There's also the fact that I blew up my Aunt Marge at the beginning of this year and was sort of in a rush to get out of there" he started laughing.

"Wow, creative. There obviously muggles then?" said Elle

"Yeah, my Aunt Petunia is my mother's sister; my mother was the only witch in the family. I hate it there in that house, I feel so suffocated. But here I feel so free, this is my real home." Said Harry pausing. "So what about you? How come you didn't go to Hogsmede?" he said.

"Well I can't really afford to go out and buy things I don't need. I live with my Gran you see, we have money but it's not a lot, so if I don't go I resist the temptation to spend. That way I can spend it on things I need. It's hard for us. But we always manage." She said smiling she had a different look in her eye and Harry couldn't tell if it was sadness.

"Is your Gran a witch?" he asked.

"No, she married a wizard. They had my mum and her two brothers. They all ended up being witches and wizards."

"How come you don't live with them? Your uncles, it would be very hard on your Gran to raise you." He asked.

"Well ones in Azkaban, and the other is dead." She said. Harry had suddenly felt very guilty for asking that question.

"Im sorry." He said instantly.

"It's okay Harry. The only family I've got is my Gran. It's not hard for her; she helped raise my mum and her brothers. So I can't see how I'd be any different. She's always worrying about me; I think because she's lost so much already she's so scared to lose anything else." She said looking at Harry she was feeling some sort of pain Harry could see it but she still had a smile on her face. She was pure joy despite all the things she had experienced already in her life.

They had made their way into the Great Hall, Harry could see Ron's bright ginger hair from a mile away and Hermione was sitting next to him they had already started eating. Harry turned to Elle she was looking over at the Slytherin table, Harry followed her stare she was looking at Malfoy he was glaring at the two of them and Elle seemed to look stressed. She finally broke away from the tense exchange and turned to Harry.

"Well it was nice talking with you today Harry. As always" she said barely smiling, Harry could see the obvious stress on her face, an expression that looked almost foreign to her face. He looked back over to the Slytherin table Malfoy was still staring at them both.

"Yeah, it was good. See you around?" Harry asked, hopefully.

"Sure" she smiled widely at him and she walked off towards her table. Harry watched as she went to sit down, she sat alone. Trying to ignore the quite obvious glaring eyes of Draco Malfoy. Harry began to feel uneasy. Elle looked almost fearful, isolated from the rest of the Slytherins. Was it Harry's fault that she had become an outcast? He did want to cause her any more pain than she had already felt. She looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back, he walked over to his table and sat down with Ron and Hermione, and just as he suspected they began talking about Hogsmede and how boring it was only to make Harry feel better of course.

Harry sat absent minded and only responded when he needed to, his mind was focused on Elle and the guilt he felt. But also suspicion, why was it that Malfoy seemed so tense? And Elle so stressed to be under his stare? He kept looking over at Elle she had gathered a few friends but she still seemed frazzled. Harry was concerned; he made a decision right then and there. He was stay away from Elle for her sake, so he couldn't cause her anymore pain.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry had been keeping himself rather busy lately; he had approached Professor Lupin about the Patronus charm and had been spending a lot of time practicing it and talking about his parents, who Lupin had cared for greatly. Harry was also busy with Quidditch Practice and homework he had barely anytime to think about Dementors or the lingering guilt he was feeling about Elle. He had seen her briefly a few times, and every time she tried to approach him Harry would just say "too busy to chat sorry, how about another time" and every time he did so he couldn't bear to look her in the eye. He knew that suspected something. He could see it in her face; he should've given her more credit, she was sure to figure it out sooner or later.

As always when everyone had gone to Hogsmede Harry used the opportunity to catch up on his work but today he found himself distracted. He was studying the Marauders Map that Fred and George Weasley had given to him. The winding passages, the hidden tunnels that led to different places in the castle and outside as well. The one in particular Harry found himself looking at was the one that led to Honeydukes shop in Hogsmede. Harry was looking at the students that were left in the castle there wasn't many left, as he was searching one name stood out to him; Elinore Collins. She was sitting in the Library in almost the exact spot she was in a month ago. Harry felt sick in the pit of his stomach he knew he should be there with her helping him with his homework. Talking about things that only both of them could understand. Harry couldn't help but notice another name in the Library besides Elle and Madam Pince. Draco Malfoy. Harry was shocked to see him there in the library; he had expected Malfoy to be at Hogsmede with the rest of his lot.

Harry sat there and watched over the two names carefully, with Madam Pince walking past occasionally. But neither of them moved for at least an hour. Harry had finished with his home work and decided to pack up all his books and parchment and go for a walk. Just as he was about to leave he checked the map Elle was making her way into the corridor closely followed by Malfoy. Harry suddenly felt a sting of suspicion. He couldn't resist he had to know what Malfoy's problem was, so he headed off towards the Library holding his map in his hands following their every move. They had stopped and they were two corridors away, Harry had started running towards the door behind which they were standing.

"What does it matter to you Draco who I spend time with? That's my choice not yours." Elle's voice was strong, a tone Harry hadn't heard in her voice before.

"You should be spending time with your own people, decent people. Not people like Potter." Malfoy's voice was sly and slightly confident as he spoke to Elle as if he had some power over her.

"Oh yes of course, because you're so decent. When are you going to face up to the fact that your families way of life is over? You're such ignorant little boy." She said Harry could hear her voice getting louder, angrier.

"I'm a Malfoy, I'm not ignorant. Your parents were ignorant and look where that got them" Harry suddenly felt rage rise inside of him. It was silent. For moments that felt like hours and then suddenly Elle's voice broke the silence.

"My parents may have been ignorant Draco. But at least they weren't murderers" Harry almost gasped out loud, Malfoy's parents the man Elle had mentioned; Malfoy's father killed her parents. The silence was deafening, Harry could only imagine how tense it would've been behind that door. He so desperately wanted to open it but he knew that it would only make it worse.

"That has nothing to do with what is happening now Elle, I'm just worried, that's all" Malfoy's voice had lowered, there was another pause.

"What do you want from me Draco? My forgiveness? Because you won't get it. You're just wasting your time." Elle's voice had lowered as well, it sounded shaky.

"I- ah you're not worth my time" said Malfoy quietly. Harry heard Malfoy's footsteps walk away from Elle, he heard her sigh and the door handle started turning, Harry backed away as the door opened.

"Oh Harry, Hi. How are you?" she said smiling at him. Harry couldn't move he was still in shock, still angry from what he had just heard. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he said looking at her finally, she looked as though she had been crying. Her eyes even more like ice, her face first showed confusion then realisation then tears started streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry; I've never told anyone. I suppose it doesn't matter who did it, they are still gone." she said wiping tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her cloak. Harry just looked at her, she smiled at him.

"I'm okay Harry. It's just hard, to stand there and look him in the face and know what his father did. He killed them because my father refused to be like him. He refused to join You-Know-Who so he killed them both but spared me. Sometimes I wish he hadn't." She said looking at Harry, tears in her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Harry felt concerned.

"Im sure" she smiled again

"Why was he worried?" asked Harry

"No one knows it was his father, I suppose he'd be in Azkaban if they did. The Malfoy's have enough power to keep anyone quiet. So I suppose that's why. Trying to protect what little pride his family has." She said looking at the floor. Harry wasn't sure how to act but he could only keep thinking it over and over in his head. There was a long pause and Harry felt his head swimming with all this new information. Lucious Malfoy was a murder and had gotten away with it.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you Harry. Is this why you have been avoiding me these last couple of weeks?" she said the tears starting to settle in her eyes.

"No, I was avoiding you because I thought everyone in your house was casting you out because of Me." he said.

"I see." She paused. "I thought you were just being a tosser" she started laughing. Harry looked at her; her face was back to normal. No more tears in her eyes and her wide smile was planted across her face. He laughed as well. She looked at him for a moment and paused, then sighed.

"They don't talk to me Harry, because I choose not to speak to them. I refuse to be influenced by them. Most of them are bad people or at least their parents are, and I will not allow myself to become one of them. Otherwise my parents would've died for nothing." she said looking Harry in the eyes.

"I can understand that." He said smiling, "but don't you ever feel-?"

"Alone? Yeah, all the time. But I've got you right?" she said smiling at him.

"Yeah of course" he smiled back.

Harry knew then at that moment that they would be lifelong friends. They were two people who had suffered so much, brought together by their understanding of pain and isolation. They needed each other.

"Thanks Harry" said Elle giving him a large smile, her ice blue eyes sparkling with joy.

"Thank you Elle" he said smiling back at her, feeling the happiest he had been all year. Harry felt at home again.


End file.
